A God's Chessboard
by Sylviaen-Cross
Summary: There are only so many times you can live. Chiyoko has learned this - several times. So when she's thrown in a world where shinobi play with knives and Bijuu breathe fire, you'd think keeping her head down and not getting invested is easier than it sounds. If only. OC/SI GEN
1. The Angel

**A God's Chessboard**

**I. The Angel**

* * *

**Disclaimer**: All characters, laws of the universe, and original plot lines are Masashi Kishimoto's.

Summary: There are only so many times you can live. Chiyoko has learned this - several times. So when she's thrown in a world where shinobi play with knives and Bijuu breathe fire, you'd think keeping her head down and not getting invested is easier than it sounds. If only. OC/SI GEN

A/N: The idea sort of barged through my brain and decided to run with it. If the character in the synopsis seems kind of...Mary-Sue, then I assure you, there's GEN there for a reason.

WARNING: This keeps up with the latest update of the manga. I suggest you read that first if you don't want spoilers.

* * *

_To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all._

Oscar Wilde

* * *

The first time I died, it was done protecting my little sister.

Our family was dysfuntional. My father never came home, Oka-san drank herself to stupor at least once a week, and my older brother took a ride to Tokyo and refused to respond to our messages, cutting us off completely. My sister, who was diagnosed with a severe case of leukemia, was probably the sanest of us all.

It could have been worse. We could have been abused. We could have been bankrupt a long time ago and had to live on the streets (although, that would have happened if I hadn't found a job when I was eleven). We could have been malnourished, or both diagnosed to a hospital, or anything else between.

But we weren't. Which really, I thought dryly, was the only thing I was thankful for.

So, really, when it came to protecting my sister from a drunken driver and his swerving car, the decision came almost too easy. I used to think, years later, what a selfish fool I was. Didn't I care for my sister _at all_?

I did. But I cared for myself more.

Human beings, I found out quickly, were like that.

* * *

The next thing I knew, I couldn't move. I couldn't talk, and my vision was entirely blurred, so I did the next best thing. I _screamed._

A voice cooed out to me. "Тихо, малката. Майка ти е тук." Which, let me tell you, as an American, absolutely confused me to death. Their were two giant arms cradling me, which was weird, because I hadn't been held like that since I was a ba—

And then, suddenly, everything fell into place. The language, I learned later, was Bul-garian. My mother was a very stubborn shopkeeper that owned a bakery. My father had gone to war and hadn't come back, but there was no need for adjusting from my old life there.

Seventy-nine years later, I died with twenty-one grandchildren and woke up as a baby again. And again. And again.

No one world was the same. I had, of course, tried to figure out the dates from when I was born and when I died, but there was no pattern in them. One time, I woke up in the French Revolution. Another, a sci-fi lover's dream world. And there was always, _always_, no matter how minuscule it was, a difference.

I became a doctor, the top mafia dictator, the President of the United States. A manga-ka, an engineer, and (I am somewhat ashamed to admit) one of the most expensive supermodels in the world. No two faces were exactly alike. No two lives were exactly alike.

And, the most infuriating of them all, was that no one seemed to be _like me_.

Oh, there were theories on reincarnation. Several, in fact. But no one was actually able to prove it. And no matter how many lives I slammed through, I could never bring myself to commit suicide. That would be almost a little too pathetic.

On the good days when I was reborn, I decided to go with everything I got. Those were the ones that I was hailed a prodigy, a Miss Whatever-Country-I-Lived-In. And sometimes, I stayed on the sidelines, watching and never, ever getting close to the people around me.

It turned to watching soon enough.

* * *

On my thirty-seventh life, I was bumped into the Naruto world. The gods up there either must have hated me, or had pushed me through my first sister's favorite manga purely on coincidence.

I was betting on the former.

At any rate, I had been born Shiori Kisaguchi with strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes and a civilian background. The people there had barely known any shinobi arts, save for the fact that the Senju and the Uchiha had been battling for a bloody century. Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, the Sage of the Six Paths, had died about twenty years prior to the beginning of the event.

I died and lived with no experience of being a killer at all. I expected that to be the end of it. After all, I had lived in a timeline where Hashirama and Madara weren't even _born_ yet.

But it didn't stop. So, I figured, if I became a kunoichi but avoided the plot lines, I should do fine, right?

Wrong. And as I desperately tried to _get out of this world,_ I had always ended up in different times of the story. Sometimes, the maid of the Uchiha sector. Or during the Nidaime's reign. Or, hell, one of the Iwa-nin's that the Yondaime himself slaughtered.

If anything, I had only forgiven him because it had been quick and painless.

It didn't mean I wasn't a good shinobi, though. Twelve lifetimes worth of assassination had to show up _somewhere_. It was just my luck (something that had almost countless times to appear if karma was any indictation) that I always managed to squirm my way out of being in the notice of one of the Kages as a newborn "prodigy" and learned more of the shinobi arts in the process.

Of course, I had never expected to actually being alive the same time of Naruto Uzumaki.

* * *

For some strange, mundane reason, I had never actually been born the same time as Uzumaki Naruto. It just wasn't done. I had used to think that maybe it was just because of the timeline, but as time passed I had assumed it was simply impossible. Zilch. Nada.

Of course, sharing the same _birthday_ as him was very, very unwise. The gods were probably laughing their asses off at my expense as I felt two very warm hands carry me over. The Death God in particular did not look very pleased as Minato hurried to perform _Shiki Fuujin. _

**"You!" **The Shinigami, I quickly discover, behind his mask and face paint, is not as scary as one might think. The effect, I think vaguely, is completely ruined by the spit that flies towards me.

Minato's head, I can see, shoots upward. He must never have heard the Death God speak, I realized later. Then again, I haven't either, but forty-something lives changed your perspective of what was normal.

**"Why do you cheat Death?" **The Shinigami tilts his head questioningly, apparently more under control.

I hear Minato reply something as Kushina protested against the use of_ Shiki Fuujin_, but the Death God shook his head and pointed at me. I gurgle as I try to scream out the words, _That's what I would've liked to ask you! _

**"Mortals are never allowed to repeat the reincarnation system with their memories intact!" **The Death God roared, obviously understanding me. **"It is a disgrace! A butchery of milleniums of tradition!"**

I squealed unhappily._ Do you know who would be able to do this, then?_

**"Absolutely no one." **he grits out, apparently frustrated at the implication of someone surpassing him.** "Unless, of course..."**

He never finishes his sentence as the Yondaime of Konohagakure slams his hands to perform the _Hakke no Fūin Shiki. _I nearly snap at him for interrupting my conversation after so many years of asking questions, and the Shinigami is clearly thinking the same notion.

**"Enough! I shall seal the Kyuubi into Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki and Chiyoko Idachi!" **Minato steps back, confused. I can tell he's asking about the user's sacrifice for the _Shiki Fuujin_ when the Death God waves his hand dismissively. **"I shall collect your body in decades' time when you die. It is not necessary."****  
**

And then the world turned black.

* * *

It is only later, after the chaos, that I learn who I am. Where I am. _What_ I am.

My mother and father (dead, by the looks of it, as no one is coddling me) were not civilian—instead, they were part of a very, very minor branch of the Uzumaki Clan that fled to Konohagakure for safe haven during the war, if the whispers around me are any indication. Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki were alive, although they were being appointed for further check ups. Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki was being cooed over as I wriggled in my crib.

My name was Chiyoko Idachi, the same as my first life. I am currently a resident of Konoha, Naruto's cousin to some extent and Kurama's jinchūriki of his _yang_ chakra.

And, as I watch Konoha start to replenish itself and rebuild the remnants of the Kyuubi attack, I can't help but wail, _Why me?_

* * *

_I just did the most dangerous thing in OC history - I made a jinchuuriki and a sorta-sister of Naruto. Of course, you'll see in the next couple of chapters that she doesn't stand out that much. If anything, the opposite. But, of course, when you're trying to hide almost twelve generations' worth of assassination, things don't always go as planned._

_This is not a Mary-Sue, nor do I plan for it to be. If this somehow insinuates like being a one, then please feel free to point out where and why. I am welcome to criticism. _

_Please leave a review on your way out._

_Edit on 10/7/2013: Did some changes in verses, mostly polishing, and added the quote._


	2. Let the Angel Fight

**A God's Chessboard**

**II. Let the Angel Fight**

* * *

**Disclaimer**: All characters, laws of the universe, and original plot lines belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

By the time I turned five, I had become the village's scapegoat and Naruto's substitute as the demon brat.

I have to admit this is somewhat impressive, for the villagers to blame all their worries and troubles to a five year old, who ordinarily wouldn't even be learning her katakanas. I, in turn, greeted them with borderline wariness as they once again sent my groceries flying or ransacking my apartment. The Yondaime was too busy to visit me as he began raising Konoha's economy to alarming heights, so I settled on putting security seals of every inch of the apartment he rented for me. There were advantages to being the apprentice of Mito Uzumaki in one life, after all.

I decided to desert the Academy for more...flavorful pursuits. I had absolutely no interest in protecting a village that loathed me to a degree I didn't know existed. Kami only knew how Naruto managed it. Kushina Uzumaki was the unknown jinchūriki of the Kyuubi, so that didn't count.

Which led me to my current situation. Naruto Namikaze was celebrated as a Golden Boy, so to speak. The civilian representative on the Council when I was two practically announced that I was the jinchūriki to the entire village, but had enough sense not to include Naruto's name to invoke the Yondaime's wrath. And so, as the darling son of the Hokage and a terrifying Red-Hot Habanero, the ground he walked on was practically kissed upon. You could see it in their eyes. And he _ate it up._

While I was partially glad that I was the one taking Naruto's place as the demon brat, I had long learned that opposites attract. So Naruto Uzumaki, with his sunny grin and optimistic ideals and the rest of Konoha, who, as far as I was concerned, were long-time hypocrites and assholes in their own right, blended in as well as white and black. The irony was incredibly amusing.

The thing with living too many lives was this: you either devote your entire self into playing a god's game or completely shut down from making any relationships. You can guess which one I picked. And with the village down my throat like a bloodthirsty hyena, I was so not looking forward to seeing this generation's Rookie Nine.

Then again, who said I had to?

_Rule #1_

I pause as I lift my fountain pen from the paper. English had become a godsend when enemy ninja happened to bypass security and look through files. A pity they didn't know what was coming for them.

_Don't get involved. Stay in the sidelines as much as possible. Do not screw up the timeline (although, the timeline was already fucked up when the Yondaime and Kushina Uzumaki lived.)_

_Rule #2_

_Do not get close to anyone. Remember, they will disappear when you die. It will-_

"Chiyoko-san! It is time for our YOUTHFUL morning run!"

I freeze. Maito Gai had to be applauded for his perseverance, if nothing else. After running into him after doing Reborn-style training from _Katekyo Hitman!_ around the entire village, he had taken me under his wing, for "youth precedes all" and, quite frankly, he didn't give a shit about what the other villagers thought of me. While the latter flattered me, it didn't mean I could keep up with fifty laps at high speed in my five year old body.

"Oh, and Chiyoko-chan?" He calls out, suddenly sounding gleeful. "Don't mute your chakra signature! It's practically impossible for someone as youthful as you!"

My head hit the table with a dull thunk. For all his acting, Gai picked up on things way too quickly.

"Coming, Gai," I drone out, desperately trying to find my sweatpants. "Give me two minutes. I need to change."

Two hours later, I collapsed on my pillow after taking a long shower as Gai did two hundred push ups with a lone finger on the carpet.

How Team Gai managed to survive, I have no idea.

* * *

The first time I met Naruto Uzumaki, I sent him home with five broken ribs and two black eyes.

Before any of you are going to scream at me, I will clarify with a wonderous, five year old sentence: he started it.

Technically, he started it with teasing Gai, and then my status in the village, and by then my irritation couldn't take much more after that.

"Oi! I'm Naruto Namikaze, future Hokage!" He announces to me as I jog past the Academy wearing weights, courtesy of my green spandex friend.

"Good for you." I flip a page of Icha Icha Paradise. Jiraiya, all things considered, could actually make a good novel if you skipped the crappy porn parts.

"Well? Aren't you going to say anything?" Naruto tilts his head.

"No comment."

"But-but!" Naruto splutter. "Aren't you going to go on and on about how youthful that is and how wonderful my dream is?"

"Are you insulting Gai-san?" I snap my book closed, veering sharply to the right. Naruto followed me, panting. Looks like Gai's training paid off in the long run, then.

"No." Naruto shrug. "I mean, he's a little on a strange side, but-"

I glare at him, fully aware that I was breaking Rule #2. Perhaps it was a rather poor choice of me to be glaring at the Hokage's son, but Gai, like it or not, was still the first person to approach me without taking advantage of the fact that I was the Kyuubi jinchūriki.

"So what if he wears green spandex and overuses the word youth? He's still my friend. I protect my friends. Or is that not what your father's _nindo_ is?" I knew I was being rather harsh to the main character, but when your mother was a drunkard and your sister diagnosed with leukemia, you get used to defending your family. A lot.

"Of course my father has his _nindo_! He's the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha! And you're just the demon brat of-"

I will say that I have never been more shocked in my entire life. To think that _Naruto_ would say something like that to someone who took his place in said position was just so unbelievable that I swung around to see if his mouth was actually moving.

And I saw red.

* * *

When I came to, sticky blood was on the ground. I winced as I saw the broken ribs and the black eye. Must have given him quite a beating.

As I piggy-backed him home, careful to take the unknown streets of the village, I pondered on what made me lose control. I hadn't done that in a while, or at least in seven lives. The last time...I shuddered as I remembered the pile of dead bodies gathered together in a bloodied valley. Mito-sensei had particularly praised me for that one. Honestly, Namikaze was lucky he didn't die.

I drop him on the doorstep of the Hokage Manor. Ringing the doorbell, I disappear in a swirl of leaves just as I hear Kushina opening the door.

* * *

By the time I get home, I have a new neighbor.

Please pause to absorb the significance of that statement. As the Kyuubi jinchuuriki of Konoha, the apartment is completely mine and mine alone. It's a bit insulting that people would automatically assume that I would spread ill fortune to them by being in so much as the same building as them.

So, really, can you honestly blame me when I stare at a very, very familiar face?

"Good morning, Idachi-san." Sai greets me with politeness and his creepiest trademark smile yet. "I hope we can be familiar acquaintances in the future."

"Hold it. What are you doing here?" I demanded rudely. Kami, I was screwing up the timeline by just being here.

Sai hesitated for a flicker of a second before plowing on. "I do not understand, Idachi-san. I have been informed that I will move to the apartment room next to you due to unfortunate events."

"You got orphaned this young?" I wailed. "Goddamnit, aren't you supposed to meet Danzo and Shin already?"

Sai's eyes widen imperceptibly before blanking in the blink of an eye. "I do not know what you are talking about, Idachi-san."

"Of course you don't," I muttered as I rummaged through the refrigerator for lunch. "Now, tell me, what was our esteemed Yondaime's expression like when Danzo proposed to mold Naruto into a weapon?"

"...I believe he told Danzo-sama to get lost or be hanged by his intestines on the Hokage monument."

I sniggered. "That's the spirit, Sai-chan! By the way, don't I close any information about this, okay? It's all part of being my friend!"

Sai immediately bowed. "Of course, Idachi-san."

"Now that I have received confirmation on you accepting orders of becoming my friend on Danzo's behalf, let's eat teriyaki!"

* * *

Sai, I found out quickly, was probably the best listener I found in ages. It helped that I bought him art supplies with my already minuscule allowance (the manager conveniently 'forgot' to give me the regulated monthly due) and taught him watercolor, an painting aspect severely underplayed in this world.

But Kami, he couldn't do chores on his _life_.

"Sai! How many times have I to tell you not to mix the red and the white together in the laundry?!"

"My apologies, Idachi-san. I have...forgotten. Again."

"Damn right you did. And for God's sake, why are you back to calling me Idachi-san?"

"It is only proper to call young ladies by their-"

"Say that again and I'll kick your ass six ways to Sunday. Put the manners book _down_."

But, overall, life was going pretty damn well. I was training with Gai in the mornings, Sai ate meals with me at my apartment, the villagers could all burn to hell and I wouldn't lift a finger—the daily life of the five year old Chiyoko Idachi.

So, in hindsight, I really should've seen karma coming.

* * *

It was a Thursday when Kushina Uzumaki decided to visit me.

I'm pretty sure it started when one of the many fights broke out in front of my door. This itself isn't actually a rarity—as long as the protection seals are on, the worst that can happen is damage on the front door and a new layer of graffiti.

Drunkards, it seems, happen to ignore all rules of 'abuse the monster from a distance' and take it to close proximity. It's funny how that no matter which life I'm in, alcohol has always been invented.

"Whore! Open up or we'll burn down the door!" I can hear two pairs of shuffling feet as one of them roar. I snort inwardly. I'd like to see them try. If they do, they'll be automatically dumped in the Sado river.

"You bitch! What the hell are you _doing_?!" I can suddenly sense two chakra signatures, one of them none other than Namikaze. My chair clatters to the floor. No matter how much I detest him, he doesn't deserve to be clobbered by civilians. That would be too pathetic.

I swung the door open to enter him, when a flash of red catches my eye. There really is no sight like a mad Kushina defending her son against drunkards. I push them in just as one of the drunkards throw a bottle at my head, narrowly missing.

"K-kaa-san, are you OK?" Namikaze clings on Kushina's shirt. I frown at him._ A shinobi must never show weakness_, I hear Mito-sensei lecture in a long, forgotten memory._ Such a thing can kill you if you aren't doing it purposely._

"Why are you here?" I decide to abandon subtlety in favor for pure bluntness.

"Do they always do that?" Kushina jerks her thumb to the door, where the men are still hollering threats. I purse my lips at the roundabout answer.

"Once a week. Usually. Twice if I'm unfortunate."

"What kind of assholes paint graffiti on a five year old's door?" Kushina looks horrified and enraged at the same time.

"The types that fill the village," I say dryly. "Do you want tea?"

Naruto immediately brightens. "Yes please!" he cheers.

When I return from the village, they have seated themselves on the couch. The men still have not left, so it's with great annoyance that I pour the hot water into the cracked cups. Namikaze looks around my apartment with undisguised disgust and curiosity. Almost all of the furniture is broken or stained in some way, while the floors practically screech with mice.

"I assume you know we're here about the...scuffle last week." Kushina drives straight home.

"I guessed as much. So, are you here because you want to sue me, lecture me about the hypocritical ideals of Konoha, or give me a piece of your mind?"

Namikaze shifts a little at my tact as Kushina frowns in disapproval at my tone. Frankly, I couldn't care less. There's a voice in my head shrieking for blood while another is asking why I've been so out of control. And I honestly don't know. But all of that pent up anger is building up like a dam about to burst, and I sure as hell am going to blame it on the Hokage's family.

"None. But an apology to Naruto would suffice."

"But he's already healed," I pointed out. Kushina frowns some more.

"Doesn't excuse the fact you attacked him."

"True, it doesn't," I acknowledge. "But I don't attack because I want to. Did it not occur to you that I might have a reason for doing what I did?"

Kushina glances sharply to Naruto. "You didn't tell me any of that," she rebukes gently.

"I didn't say anything!" he protests. "I told you she attacked me out of rage!"

"No, I attacked you because you insulted me, you insulted my friend, and, most importantly, you reminded me of the thing I most hate in my entire life."

"And what that might be?" The Hokage's wife presses.

"The village full of wusses and assholes, like I said. Konohagakure," I give her my most chilling smile. "Is that not right?"

Naruto stands up suddenly. "That's not Konoha!" he declares. "Konoha is nice and funny and _wonderful_! You have no right to say-"

"You say that because that's the side of this village that _you_ see," I say quietly. "And I have no doubt they are these things to _you_. But, let's think for a second." I tilt my head, my voice growing louder by the second. "Does your village try to ransack your apartment every week? Does your village try to drown a five year old fourteen times out of her whole life? Does your village throw rocks at your head, screaming to get out of their shops and being forced to look through dumpsters because _no one_ helps you?"

I am screaming now in an uncontrollable, terrifying rage. "No, of course not! Because you're the Hokage's son, you brat! If you really want to spread those peace ideals to the rest of the entire village, try to say that to the women who are raped, the kids who are abused, the business tycoons who divorce their wives and get every penny! Because I am every one of those people! The people who are forced to grovel in the mud and fight their way to the top! So until you can safely say that, _DON'T FUCK WITH ME!"_

In that single, undescribable moment, I understand something. This is not my Naruto Uzumaki. This is not my Kushina, or my Minato. None of these characters are _mine. _It might be sad, but this is not my Konoha, the one I cherished, the one I cheered on as the Shinobi Alliances was founded. This is Konohagakure, my _monster village._

Naruto, I realize with a start, is shaking now. I have unintentionally released tendrils of suffocating chakra, so much so that the damaged cups have broken to pieces. Kushina is watching me with pitiful eyes that I just want to crush her.

"I had no idea it got this bad," she says honestly.

"Yeah, well, tell that to yourself," I snarl. "What a fucking waste of a guardian." I am gratified to see her wince. I plow on. "Did you really think I wouldn't have noticed? Supposedly, I'm part of your clan—the one that apparently doesn't care at all for its family members. From now on, I will be registered as Chiyoko. No Idachi. I don't want a family that forces itself to like me."

"I would have never have done that if I knew-"

"But you _didn't_. Not a single visit, or even so much as a simple card. At least show me I _exist_."

The rage from before is gone like a whiff to the candles. I am suddenly tired and dull, like a blade that has forgotten to be sharpened. I swing open the door. "Out of the house."

They follow silently.

* * *

"I can't believe this," Minato leafs through the documents, pinching the bridge of his nose. "_I can't believe this_."

"I told you to look through those files," Kushina says grimly, setting down tea on the Hokage's desk. "Looks like the girl was right all along."

"N-no, it's just-" The Yondaime waves his hands around. "I mean, these are deliberate missed doctor checkups, supposedly misplaced bills, heck, even going so far as suing the child for things she obviously couldn't have done. All because, and I quote, 'she's a monster child.' And they had the nerve to _put it on paper_."

Sarutobi, in one of the chairs of the Hokage's office, puffs on his pipe warily. "A jinchūriki is not considered useful if she is disloyal to her village," he says lightly. "No matter how much right in it exists."

"Konoha does not kill children." Minato says sharply, before deflating as the retired Kage raises his hands in peace.

"I propose..." The old man leans back on his chair. "...a way to show that not all families are like that in our village."

Kushina grins. "Or an adoption, perhaps?" She glances back at her husband. "I would love to take over the job, but I don't think I made the right impression on her."

"Definitely one of the clans," the Yondaime muses thoughtfully. "Something that would benefit Konoha in the long run, as well."

"Perhaps Inoichi? I heard he has a daughter around her age."

"Nah." Kushina shakes her head in the negative. "She doesn't really seem to be the social type. Plus, Inoichi would call it off in an instant if it jeopardized his relationship with his own daughter."

"Shikaku? The Kurama Clan? Shibi-san? None of those?" Sarutobi presses on.

"Well, maybe the..."

* * *

"Sai? You don't have to do this, you know."

"I realize that, Chiyoko-san."

I stare quizzically at the boy on the ground who was carrying a bucket full of water and sponges. The graffiti had been long since applied, but if Sai wanted to do it, then it was fine by me. "OK, then. I'll go grocery shopping while you clean up. Don't force yourself, alright?"

"Yes, Chiyoko-san."

As I head downstairs, my destination in mind is the red light district. It is the place of outlaws and orphans, so most people don't bat an eye when I pass through the crowds. It's also particularly cheap for ingredients and such, so money isn't as much as a problem.

Of course, I never expected Naruto Namikaze to be there either.

I find him huddled in one of the cornered alleyways of the streets, flinching as boys take turns badmouthing him at every opportunity. I frown at their behavior, before taking rocks on the ground and throwing them purposely near one of their heads, chinking on brick walls.

"Oi, bitch!" One of the boys, around twelve years old, openly sneers at me. "Ya got a problem?"

"Well, unfortunately, that the Hokage's son you're bullying. I'd love to pass on through, but you're blocking my way." A lie, but it's a satisfactory one.

The boy nods in acknowledgement of my accent, marking me as one of the red light district's residents. "Ya one of us, then? Go on. We're teaching this brat a lesson."

"Did he do something wrong?" I ask, purposely timid. The boy tilts his head.

"Well, me and Sāto-" here, he gestures towards himself and his companion. "We see this little townie boasting to the high heavens about him changing the world. We ask him, what ya doing here, brat? And he has the nerve to actually say to us that he'll get is out of here. So we say, who the hell put that idea in your head? And he says right back, the demon brat."

I almost slap myself right then and there. I should've known children at this age take words at heart and smacked the foot out of my mouth. It is this line of thinking that inevitably makes me guilty at putting Naruto in this sort of situation, and so I clamp my mouth shut as the words begin to fall out-

"I'll take him."

"'Cuse me?" The boy looks like he's seriously reconsidering his previous choice of letting me go. "Did I hear ya right?"

"Yes, you did," I say tiredly. Kami, I don't want to go through this.

"No, you didn't." He tries to take a intimidating step forward, but fails miserably. I've seen monsters that killed thousands in cold blood and battles that raged on for months, so this does nothing for me. It does do something, however, when he cuffs the blonde boy who squirms and raises his hand to hit him-

And suddenly I am back again in my sister's world, trying to prevent her from getting her killed, and my legs move on its own and _crack_ the boy's spine in rage, growling and steadying myself in a taijutsu stance.

"Wha-" His companion screams, and I suddenly _shunshin_ forward and bend his neck as well. Naruto staggers back, obviously not used to this.

But the marketplace is bustling just as before, and no one takes any great notice of the two bodies laying on the floor. They are simply cannon fodder—akasenko that have whores for mothers and greasy men for fathers.

"Next time, don't go into the red light district. Didn't I already tell you that nobody will listen to you until you become Hokage?" I drawl, not even bothering to deny the fact that he will become Hokage.

Naruto nods shakily. He is a five year old boy, I think. Not the one that has killed pregnant women and babies like me. The world shouldn't have this many innocent people. But it does, so I slip my hand comfortingly into his (small and soft, unlike shinobi whose rough calluses are soaked in blood), if only to slightly assure him.

"Let's get you cleaned up. You're drenched in sweat." I wrinkle my nose. Naruto grins, bounces once, and begins blabbing about his day, pointedly ignoring the dead bodies that are farther and farther away from us as we walk towards the my apartment.

I made a friend. Not Naruto Namikaze, because that would imply befriending him for his title. Not Naruto Uzumaki, because I gave up giving the importance for the manga long ago.

Just Naruto. And that, I think wryly, is enough.

* * *

"I hear rumors of the Uchiha having a coup d'état."

"...you can't be implying what I think you are implying."

Sarutobi smiles dryly. "Why not? Jiraiya gave me the information weeks ago. While I believe there is a slim to none chance of it, it is very possible in the future."

Kushina groans. "Honestly, I love Mikoto and all, but..." She gestures wildly with her hand. "...Fugaku is an ass on a good day! Who knows what nonsense he'll plant in Chiyoko's head?"

"He's not that bad," Minato mumbles, his voice muffled from the stacks of paperwork. "He's just...stoic. And why, for the love of Kami, are we still on this topic in six in the afternoon? Don't you have anything to do?"

"It will be shown as a sign of trust." Sarutobi replies calmly, and as Kushina glances at him incredulously, he amends, "For a while, anyway. Two years at the very least."

"She'll be turned into a weapon!" Kushina protests hotly.

"Yes, but think of the bigger picture. You know how our government works. They're all very Senju-inclined. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a Uchiha riot in five years or so," the retired Hokage argues back. "We _need_ the police in Konohagakure. It'll be disastrous for our village to appear anything but the strongest of the five."

As Minato nods his head, Kushina whirls around indignantly. "You can't expect to actually go along with this!"

"We'll see. There are other options, you know," he reminds her. "Just something to keep in mind.

* * *

It has been two relatively peaceful months since Naruto has came into my apartment when I get my letter.

This is unusually rare unless the villagers decide yet again to stuff my mail a so-called "present", so I stare suspiciously at it until giving up after attempting every jutsu and seal I can think of. Finally, after much deliberation, I open it hesitantly.

The first thing I notice is the Hokage's seal on the bottom, so it should be fairly safe. Until, that is, I actually read it.

_Chiyoko Idachi, daughter of Kazumi and Tetsuya Idachi, is formally adopted into the Uchiha Clan, under Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha._

Oh, crap.

* * *

_Lo and behold, my first second chapter ever! I'm sorry if I somehow butchered Naruto's character, but on a good note, more characters will be introduced into the next chapter. _

_Questions:_

_- Why is Naruto so different?_

_If I butchered his character, I will remind you: he is FIVE, people. Naruto is also the darling son of the Hokage, so of course he's going to be coddled by the villagers. It just means that he's never seen the world as personally as Chiyoko does. _

_- Why no visits from the Hokage to Chiyoko?_

_I've come up with one conclusion for this one, and it's this: Minato's dying wish was for Naruto to be seen as a hero. However, since Chiyoko managed to screw the timeline over, he obviously is going to spend more time with his son and the village rather than a child whose parents Kushina barely remembers. The fact that Sarutobi might have felt in debt for the Yondaime in canon, and treating Naruto well is also counted._

_- When will Sakura be seen?_

_I will be having Sakura in chapters before canon starts. I plan for it to be them to be around nine to ten years old, so...about two to three more chapters?_

_- How often will you be updating?_

_I find it really irritable if an author leaves a story for more than six months unless it's within a really good reason. So, I will post this on every single story I publish (usually repeating on the second and first chapter). I'll try once a week, preferably updating on weekends, but it might be a little inconsistent. However, if I miss two weeks with no update or warning, flame me all you like. :)_

_Thanks for reading, and leave a review on your way out! Feel free to ask me anything!_


	3. The Angel Creates a Purpose

**A God's Chessboard**

**III. The Angel Creates a Purpose**

* * *

**Disclaimer**: All characters, laws of the universe, and original plot lines belong to Masashi Kishimoto. Of course, Chiyoko is mine.

* * *

Fugaku briefly wonders if he is dreaming when Minato announces to the entire Council that he is handing custody of the Kyuubi jinchūriki to the Uchiha Clan. Honestly, he wouldn't be surprised if he was.

Oh, he knows what game Minato is playing. The "equal" balance of power. But it is a game Uchihas have been playing for their entire lives, so he just watches amusedly as the other clan heads squabble over the matter. Funny, because if he remembered correctly, none of them so much as lifted a finger for the jinchūriki.

Chiyoko Idachi turns into Chiyoko Uchiha. She knows she is the Kyuubi jinchūriki, Minato warns him after showing the recently revealed files of prejudice. Fugaku is mildly disgusted at the shows of immaturity. _My wife tells me she abhors Konoha_, the Yondaime admits. _Can't exactly blame her, but I hope you'll be able to change your mind._

Mikoto is delighted at the prospect of having a daughter, so no worries there. Itachi will adjust. Sasuke, however, is completely unpredictable, so they inform him of the news earlier than expected.

She comes four days after the announcement, and after somewhat elegantly bowing to Fugaku and Mikoto, says stiffly, "Thank you for having me, Uchiha-san and Uchiha-san." They both know it was an order, but Mikoto ushers her in one of the emptied rooms of the main compound anyway.

Then Sasuke bursts in the house on Itachi's shoulders demanding to see his new sibling, so Mikoto bustles around making onigiri for lunch while Chiyoko enters wearing a plain dark kimono. His wife tells him later, with no small amount of apprehension, that she had burned the former clothes because the girl was forced to search the dumpsters as no shopkeepers would let her in.

So while the jinchūriki maintains small talk with Itachi while simultaneously listening to Sasuke's tale of "stupid Naruto's nickname for him", Mikoto asks kindly what her day was like at the Academy. She replies, almost dismissively, "They don't let me in, so I don't bother them."

As Itachi subtly chokes on his tea and Mikoto's hand almost slips under the dishes, Fugaku is smoldering inside. They refused a _jinchūriki_ of a shinobi career? Blasphemy. He wonders, with annoyance, where the hell has Kushina Uzumaki been in the past 5 years.

"But that's OK," she adds, almost as an afterthought. "I already learned the stuff they teach there."

Fugaku inwardly perks up at this mention. "You have already completed the Academy curriculum?" he asks casually. She nods, disinterested, seemingly unaware of Fugaku's thoughts that fly around.

"I will have a clansman test you next week," he decides. Mikoto visibly brightens and resumes gently prodding the heavily malnourished girl into refills, while Sasuke eagerly fills Chiyoko in of _his_ Academy day, with Itachi hovering over both children watchfully.

And Fugaku just has to sigh and wonder how on Earth did Chiyoko Idachi fit into his family so quickly.

* * *

It has been a month since I have arrived at the Uchiha compound, and Sasuke has been named my favorite Aniki and Itachi my favorite sparring partner.

I decide to not-so-tactfully hint at being finished with Academy work, if only to speed things up. Naoki, the instructor, sang praises (as much as a Uchiha can, anyway) by the first hour of teaching me. Fugaku simply switches me to sparring with Itachi after seeing me skating across the Sado river.

Tachi-chan (me and cousin Shisui's official nickname for him) is now straddled with his new jounin duties and training me and Sasuke. It's fun seeing how far he can go, even if he can already sense me deliberately holding back. This bothers him to no end, and I sometimes have to remind myself that in the end, Itachi is still a curious eleven year old boy, no matter what he grows up to be in the future.

Much to Mikoto-san's delight and Sasuke's horror, Naruto and Sai come over daily now for lunch. It's hard to play mediator all the time, but it's worth it when I receive a thank you! at the end of the day.

"_Why_ aren't you a ninja?" Naruto whines, flopping on the couch, exhausted after a rigorous training night. I glance up from the algebra worksheet I began devising for Itachi a week ago, smirking at the memory of the "friendly" game of tag.

"Because I have absolutely no desire to protect a village that loathes me," I answer bluntly. Sai agrees with a nod of his head. "Plus, Konoha's hypocritical."

"But Konoha's nice! And-" Naruto cuts himself off after seeing Sasuke's prepared glare and rant. I grimace.

"Naruto, they're nice to you because you're the _Hokage's son_," I emphasized before Sasuke made a smart-ass remark. "I think that's a given. I, on the other hand, is the demon whore of Konohagakure."

"You're not-" Naruto begins protesting hotly.

"-a demon whore-" Sai cuts in smoothly, frowning Frown No. 8.

"-of Konohagakure." Sasuke finishes dryly, evidently already heard this statement a thousand times.

"Thank you, but I'm quite sure of what I just said." I scribble an equation down on paper.

"Wash up, dears," Mikoto calls from the kitchen. "We're eating in five minutes."

And as Sasuke scrambles with Naruto to be the first at the table, both torn from responding to Sai's insults of Dickless and Asexual and eating Mikoto's fantastic cooking, I think dimly, _This isn't quite so bad._

* * *

Kurama isn't as insane as the earlier books make him out to be. He's just grouchier than a normal person (and who wouldn't be in his case?) and has a twisted sense of humor. And, I realize with delight, is possibly the only person in the world that can somewhat understand my situation.

**"Why are you here again?"** Kurama grumbles. **"Honestly, you mortals are so clingy. It's a wonder how we manage to stick to you so long without going insane."**

I grin. "Going insane isn't that bad. You just completely lose conscious of what you're doing. Plus," and here I waggle my finger at him. "-even you admit that my company is better than most people. For example, I'm not biased like the rest."

**"True,"** Kurama acknowledges. **"You're definitely more annoying than the rest, though."** he adds, after seeing me perk up.

I pout sullenly, then search the sewers, frowning. "Where's Yami me?"

"Right here, Queen." An adult version of me smiles disarmingly, her shock white hair the only difference we shared besides age. "I hope you're ready for another spar."

I had long learned about my "dark" self. She's actually quite nice, until she goes absolutely bloodthirsty. Kurama, the king of youkai himself, made me swear to Kami that I would never try to push her, because she'll always be able to sense it. Turns out, Yami Chiyoko is stronger than me by miles (and how unfair is that?).

Of course, I think Kurama was mostly miffed because we almost blasted my mindscape to pieces and he didn't get to join in.

"I've got to name you something else besides Yami," I say. She smirks, twirling a lock of her hair coyly. "Kurei? That means dark...but it's depressing. Shiro? You have white hair. No? Uh...I'm kind of out of it."

**"Just name her Kyōki and be done with it,"** Kurama growls.** "No need to name her for her hair if she can go berserk in the middle of battle."** He casts an approving nod to said berserker, who accepts the praise in grace.

I blink. "...Wow. I didn't think you guys would get along so famously. But, uh, yeah. The name's fine. I can't believe I didn't think of it. Madness, right?"

Kurama sniffs disdainfully.** "I have unfortunately had the experience of your so-called...calligraphy."**

I snort, before widening my eyes in mock horror. "My, Kurama-san! Such a poor thing!" I coo, grinning gleefully at his bristled fur. "Enjoying our brushwork, are we?"

**"Do not mock me, human!"** he roars. **"I can crush you under one of my tails easily! Once I break out of this miserable cage, I shall dance on your grave!"**

I giggle softly. "But we're a good influence on you!" I chirp happily. "A month before, you didn't even understand what that phrase meant!"

Kurama's eyes widen in realization before yowling, unceremoniously throwing himself forward.

"Bye bye!" I wave to Kyōki, who is staring at Kurama with a twitch on her lips. "I'll spar with you later, 'kay?"

My mindscape twists and warps, and the next second I am laying on my bed, panting.

* * *

"Imouto, what am I doing wrong?" Sasuke asks me, plopping next to me on the grass. I hand him a bento, noting his sweat drenched shirt and Itachi following closely behind.

"Easy. Tachi-chan simply has more experience," I inform him, chewing on a mouthful of rice. "He's faster, stronger, has more chakra...you know the deal."

"But _you_ always beat Itachi with no problem!" Sasuke pouts, and I wonder for the fiftieth time that day if this really is the ice cube Sasuke I've known in the manga.

_That's because I'm centuries older than you_, I add in my head. "Well, if it makes you feel any better," I say, wordlessly giving another bento to Itachi as he sits down. "I'm not exactly teacher material. Tachi-chan is one of the best in the entire Clan."

Itachi twitches at the nickname, but otherwise stays silent at the compliment. "However," I add sharply to Sasuke. "Your fighting moves are way too predictable. One of the reasons Itachi can smack you to the ground with no problem is that you are an _Uchiha_. Obviously, he's going to know what you're doing next. Throw some variation."

"...what Chiyoko-san says is true, otouto," Itachi admits. "She does not use the standard Uchiha taijutsu. It is more of a...mixture of styles."

"See? Even Tachi-chan here agrees."

"But we always learn the Uchiha way in the compound." Sasuke mutters, a frown creasing his brow. "Otou-san won't be happy if I suddenly start doing something else."

"Then don't," I say dryly. "Just—My God, why are you looking at me like I've grown two heads?"

"What you say are the complete opposites," Itachi says blankly.

I throw my hands up in exasperation. "Have you people ever thought of, well, _improving_ your taijutsu?"

They both stare at me, shocked. "B-but our taijutsu has been used since the first Shinobi World War," Sasuke says, sounding a bit strangled.

"Exactly! _Someone_ is going to have information on that! And besides, you people have been doing it for years! And—don't look at me like that, Tachi-chan. Most members, by the time they're seventeen, have some sort of individual style. Say, Otou-san." I draw a rather sloppy person on the ground with a stick. "See, the Uchiha taijutsu relies on strength and speed. Otou-san favors strength and always strikes with his right hand. For him, his left side is mostly defense." I grin, seeing the confusion on the two boys' faces.

"Our father is a very smart man. He knows that there are barely any left-handed people in the world. Naturally, most people favor their right hand in battle. You shouldn't do that, though." I tack on hurriedly as realization dawns on Itachi. "Anyway, they'll always strike at the _left side_ of their opponent first. Of course, this won't work if they're behind you or sideways, but it's an easy problem to fix. So..." I clap my hands in triumph. "In other words, Otou-san has a very nice, solid defense. Of course, I'm sure he has another solution if the person is left handed, right, Otou-san?"

A voice rumbles above us in the tree we sit under. "Very nice, Chiyoko. I must ask, though, if you have gotten more information about our other members as well?"

Sasuke and Itachi jump. I can see out of the corner of my eye Itachi surveying me with slightly more respect, both at the former explanation and the fact that I managed to contact his father's chakra signature before him.

"What kind of person would I be if I didn't know every single one of our clan members?" I ask nonchalantly.

Fugaku jumps down easily. "For someone who has stayed a month and a half at most, it is impressive. Itachi, Sasuke," he orders. "I want you to observe what Chiyoko has told you. It will become most useful in future battles. On the other hand," he glances sharply at me, his eyes narrowing. "How long do you have to watch a person's style to grasp it?"

"Um..." I frown, debating whether to lie or not. "Really depends. I've spent so much time around the compound that it becomes obvious in the first thirty seconds or so for a Uchiha. And it's honestly not that hard to bypass the other clans' security, so..." I almost smack myself for mentioning that when a pleased smile crosses Otou-san's face. "Well, anyway, the reason I have a weird taijutsu stance is that I try to alternate a lot of styles at once. I don't suggest it, by the way," I grimace. "It's horribly confusing, but by the time I finished my original katas I had to stick with it because nothing else worked."

A lie. I mastered my own taijutsu, _Sen Sutāiru,_ nine lives ago and have been perfecting it ever since. It's a work of art, if I do say so myself. But it's mine and mine alone, so damn anyone who tries to steal it.

"Ah." Itachi says. "That would explain how I can't copy it with the Sharingan."

Fugaku's gaze sharpens even more after that. "Very well," he nods. "I trust you shall teach this on to the next generation, then?"

"Perhaps, sir." An apologetic smile. "I'd like to teach it to my line."

Fugaku nods in understanding. As a child of the Uchiha Clan, my worth is lessened of the fact that I do not have the Sharingan, but is slightly higher in rank as the daughter of the Clan Head. But teaching it to my line (if I even have any children, which I highly doubt), no doubt benefits the Clan as a whole.

"Very well." He inclines his head to his sons before walking away. "Keep working, Sasuke. Itachi, I want you to have daily spars with your sister now. There is a chance that you will fight against an opponent who cannot be copied."

I can barely hear him as he says "sister." It's silly, but it fills me with a happy glow inside. I have had siblings before, in my previous lives, but it's more...special with Itachi and Sasuke, who in canon both have wracked lives full of broken glass.

When I reach the compound, saying good nights to both of them, I open the drawer in my nightstand and pull out a familiar piece of paper. The words bore into me, and suddenly I am full of doubts.

_You have to do this, if only for Sasuke and Itachi_, I tell myself firmly, and bring out a ink bottle. I cross out the only moral I've ever had in the past millenium, and _write_.

What was once '_Do not get involved' _is now utterly changed. Instead, more characters are written as I loop my letters, writing in cursive.

_Do whatever you can for Itachi and Sasuke. No matter what happens, even if it means following them to the ends of the earth, you will help them. If it means being reborn and helping the Uchiha Clan, you will help them. And, even if it means sacrificing your own life for them..._

_You will help them._

* * *

_It's a shorter chapter today, but it got my point across. Special thanks to SmileRen, who reviewed for both chapters! And thanks to everyone who reviewed as well. You guys brightened up my day! Oh, and in answer to your question, SmileRen, no, I don't have a beta. But thank you for flattering me.:) _

_At any rate, thank you so much for reviewing!_

_Questions:_

_- Why does Sasuke supposedly immediately like Chiyoko?_

_OK, so you might think that this is sort of Mary-Sueish, but it's not. Sasuke, as far as I can tell, is pretty much a cheerful child until the Massacre. I think, coupled with the fact that he wants to be an elder brother like Itachi, makes him enjoy Chiyoko's company.  
_

_- Why is Kurama...different?_

_Ha ha. If I somehow managed to screw Kurama's personality over, then I'm sorry. I truly am. But I don't like it when there are fanfiction ultimately assuming that he's a mindless beast. Because someone's going to have to be fairly smart when they've lived for millenniums._

_- Why is Chiyoko devoting herself to helping her brothers?_

_Well, let's think about it. She died protecting her sister, and that's gotta mean she has some maternal feelings left, no? And I've always thought, no matter how heartless Sasuke was in Shippuden, he still had a fucked up life. The guy sees his entire family killed by his own brother, then finds out that his brother was a double agent for Konoha, the village he formally fought for, and is recruited and used and yada yada. Itachi even more so. Chiyoko sympathizes with that. And she wants to change the world, just for them._

_Thanks so much to everybody!_

_Please leave a review on your way out._


	4. The Angel Is Taught

**A God's Chessboard**

**IV. The Angel is Taught**

* * *

**Disclaimer**: All characters, law of the universe, and original plot lines belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

"Oka-san, do you know when Aniki and Tachi-chan will get back?"

Mikoto smiles at me as we wash the dishes. "Hm...I'd say about an hour or so," she hums, checking the clock. It was two in the afternoon, and both boys had gone in a boar hunt. I distantly recalled the manga having a brief flashback about this, but if Sasuke somehow managed to fail with both me _and_ Itachi's help, well, we were going to..._talk_.

Almost on cue, the door opens and I can hear Sasuke's victorious shout of dragging the boar with him. "Otou-san, Oka-san!"

"What, you didn't call for me?" I ask teasingly as we inspect the kill in the front patio.

He pouts sullenly. "That's 'cause you already knew, didn't you?" he asks suspiciously. "You did that weird watching thing."

"Aniki, that 'weird watching thing', as you call it, is practically synonymous to the Byakugan. And I only watched until you guys killed the boar. Oh, and Tachi-chan, Otou-san wants you to clean up and spar with me this evening." Itachi nods behind Sasuke. I smile inwardly. _Subete Miru, _a jutsu I developed during my fourth life_, _was harder to keep up than the Byakugan, but allowed the user for more perspectives during battles. Fugaku had been interested when I demonstrated, but grimaced after all of the chakra control involved.

"Dinner's ready in ten minutes." Mikoto calls out. "Naruto and Sai will be joining us again."

Sasuke groans, and I poke at him. "Admit it: you enjoy their company," I say, smiling when he raises his hands in exasperation. He doesn't deny this, however, so I settle on attempting poking on Itachi's forehead and chasing him across the yard in a flurry of _shunshin_ when he escapes.

All in all, it has been a good day.

* * *

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to Sasuke, happy birthday to you!" I sing, carrying a giant cake with Mikoto towards the lawn. Sasuke grins when he sees the food.

"Here you go," I say, handing Itachi a birthday hat. He twitches at the bright colors, but puts it on nevertheless. Naruto grabs another one and fixes Sai's sideways hat.

"And now I'm older than you, dobe," Sasuke smirks. Naruto tackles him to the ground, almost splashing into-

"Don't go into the garden pond!" Itachi relaxes slightly as both boys resurface, calmer than he has arrived. I clap my hands and push Sai into the pond as well, who in turn grabs my sleeve and pulls me in as well.

It is Sasuke's sixth birthday on July 23rd, and me, Fugaku, Mikoto, and Itachi, along with the Hokage's family and Sai have launched it for him. Well, mostly Mikoto and me suggested it, and then Kushina caught hold of the idea, and brought everyone else along...

I glance up at the sky. Evening is arriving, so, really, everything should be OK. But there is something _wrong_...

**Look up**, Kurama urges suddenly. I barely have any time to wonder why he's contacting me now after ignoring the communication seal I put on his cage before subtlety glancing upwards.

And then I see the silver glint of a poisoned senbon, and everything swirls around me. I freeze (unforgivable, and I can just hear Mito-sensei lecturing me again) and then push all three of my boys in the garden lake just as four professionally aimed darts shoot across the water.

I can hear shouting, and Sasuke is squirming in my arms. Sai, fortunately, seems to have caught on and is making ANBU signs to Naruto.

We stay there for what was probably fifteen more seconds before hands start grabbing us out. Sasuke gasps for air as Naruto collapses, with Sai in tow. I frown, seeing a dark masked penetrator tied to one of the poles. The Yondaime is crouching next to him with Fugaku, obviously checking for more weapons.

"Chiyoko? Can you hear me?" Kushina is repeating, and I turn to face her. I shake some water out of my ears before giving her a thumbs-up sign.

"Thank God," Mikoto breathes out. Then she hugs me tightly before stalking off to confront the intruder, muttering darkly under her breath. I can hear the words "this better not be from Iwa" and "how _dare_ he" as she pushes both her husband and the Hokage aside.

Kushina grins a little. "Mikoto spent quite some time working in T&I," she chirps far too happily, and I have barely any time to wonder whether or not this is a good thing when she ushers all of us inside. Naruto swallows fresh water hurriedly, as if he is afraid this might disappear in a moment's notice. Sasuke has brought a change of clothes for each of us and pulls a blanket over his shoulders. Sai is blank-faced as usual, but even I can notice how he clutches his cup.

We could all have died today, I think. Except for me, which is the most ironic thing of all, because I am the one that least deserves it.

* * *

Shisui wakes me up with a bucket of water the next day at five o'clock in the morning. This makes a quarter of the seals placed in my room go off, so it's worth it when I see him strapped against one of the walls, hands cuffed and twelve carefully precise senbon surrounding his neck.

"Holy crap," Shisui swears, wiggling and in danger of turning on even more complicated seals. "What the hell are you trying to do, Chi-chan?"

"I'm healthily paranoid," I reply, giggling as I deactivated the glowing seals on the walls using sixteen passwords. "You're lucky—you only triggered the Level One seals."

"Level—" Shisui blanches. "Kami, I am _so_ happy we're in the same Clan."

I glance sideways to him, moderately curious. "Although, what were you doing in my room this early? I'm always out to jog with Gai in the morning."

Shisui pales even further. "You mean—like, the Green Beast of Konoha?"

"I had no idea any one called him that except for himself," I say amusedly.

"You poor child," Shisui whispers, horrified, and suddenly whips his head around as Itachi enters the room. "I'm winning this bet, Tachi-chan!"

"...I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me," Shisui challenges. "You know, the bet we made when we were drunk last week!"

I nearly choke. "Wait, wait, wait. Itachi was _drunk_?"

"I was...highly intoxicated. I had no idea Shisui had spiked the drink," Itachi says defensively. I snigger openly, much to my brother's irritation.

"But, really, what is this so-called bet?"

Shisui looks incredibly proud of himself. "I'll be teaching Chi-chan and Itachi will teach Sasuke for a whole month until September! Have a match between the two, and the loser will do whatever I—I mean, the winner wants for an entire week!"

I giggle at his slip up. Itachi's expression is blank while conveying his displeasure at the same time. The door opens, and Sasuke takes one good look at Shisui before snickering. "Imouto didn't tell you about the upgraded security around here, did she?"

Shisui glares at me halfheartedly. "You didn't tell me any of that," he accuses. "Is it around the whole compound?"

"Yep. I made an entire barrier of seals after the...incident. Otou-san is inviting the Hokage today to make sure's everything's smooth."

"Of course, this shows it already is," Itachi smirks, indicating at the ropes around our cousin. Shisui squawks indignantly, saying that he was simply surprised, thank you very much.

I clap my hands playfully. "Now, my dear Aniki, I assume Tachi-mini didn't tell you about the unfortunate bet that's _sure_ to go in my favor?"

"I did no agree to anything of the sort." Itachi shoots down the idea immediately.

"Come on, Itachi," Shisui coaches, using my brother's real name. "You can't say that what happened at the birthday party isn't going to occur again. It'll give both of them motivation, at least. And Chiyoko can be handicapped to taijutsu only."

"Hold it!" I protest. "I can't go against—"

Shisui gives me a what-the-fuck-are-you-doing look as Itachi seems to be weighing the pros and cons. Sasuke says hesitantly, "I would enjoy a spar against imouto, nii-san."

And so a deal is sealed.

* * *

Shisui, it turns out, is the fastest teacher in Konohagakure. Literally and figuratively. He signs me up with daily six hour training sessions with Gai (pointedly ignoring my pleading look) and dishes out spars like hot cakes.

Kage Bunshin is very useful in this case. Of course, it also means triple the muscle cramps and twice the exhaustion, but even I can see how much we're improving. Sasuke is reaching new heights, much to Fugaku's approval, and Itachi has temporarily revoked is jounin duties to train him. I can even hear chunin at grocery shops discussing who will be the winner.

September arrives in no time, and Shisui pats me on the back towards Sasuke in our training area before disappearing in an act of _shunshin_. I can sense several other chakra signatures hiding before steadying myself into a familiar taijutsu stance. Sasuke nods, and we fight.

Fighting is the only constant in my life. It is the only thing I ever get to show as I pass through lives like butter. _Sen Sutāiru_ is so well performed that to an outsider, it seems to be a single dance that pierces with deadly strikes. And I bathe in it. I savor the thrill that hums inside of me, the whirl of weapons and arms and feet, the absolute _freedom_ that frolics inside.

I hold back for Sasuke, if only not to scare him too deeply. I can tell the ones watching have noticed this, but I don't care. This is me and my brother, and no one else. But eventually, just like all the others, he wears down. He is spectacular for his age, I notice with pride and a little bit of disappointment, but he is still human.

Finally, he is struggling, barely holding on, and maybe my regret shows, because when he looks up, his eyes are _red_.

I am shocked that my sweet, naïve brother has acquired the Sharingan. This second is all he needs, and he strikes forward. But I have fought scarier monsters than him, so I whirl in a flurry of shunshin and press my fingers to his neck, a hair space away from a nerve point.

And people _clap_.

Fugaku releases the genjutsu, surveying both of us with clear acknowledgement. "_Very_ nice, Sasuke," he says, pulling out a small mirror out of his pocket. "Look at your reflection."

And my brother beams, all but glomping me. "Thank you thank you thank you," he keeps repeating, and I tangle my fingers in his hair a touch wistfully. I search the crowd for Itachi, and he is there as Sasuke pounces on him as well.

But then I see a familiar glimpse of orange, one that is most definitely not Naruto's, and I am suddenly very, very scared.

* * *

Kakashi has heard of Chiyoko Uchiha. Who hasn't? But even as Uchiha boasts of many prodigies in their ranks, he doesn't expect her to be this good.

Sasuke Uchiha is fantastic—easily passable into genin and perhaps chunin. He does taijutsu and ninjutsu with solid build and a strategic mind, something which Kakashi knows most chunin don't even come close to applying as well as he does, but he can see how much the girl is holding back.

Her style, on the other hand, is confusing, predictable, and utterly brilliant. He can appreciate the strength that the Uchiha enjoy, the subtleness that the Aburame have, the precision that the Hyuuga favor. And many more remain, even (and he shudders to think of what this might imply) Gai's style compacted into a graceful, fluid dance.

But she is only using taijutsu. And, according to the Uchiha Head and Minato-sensei, has already made several new jutsu based on other dojutsu and flawless fuuinjutsu. But she was refused a shinobi career, and in a way he is both damns and is supremely grateful to the Academy for doing so. What else could she have been?

But Kakashi is not a gullible idiot, no matter how much the other jounin Fugaku invited ooh and ahh at both of his children. An not-quite-six year old can not be able to do this, much less alone and left parentless. A teacher, he concludes, must have already been in order.

So Kakashi sets his sights on that goal. And what he finds out leaves him completely hanging.

* * *

"I need you to teach me."

Kurama lifts his head, obviously expecting this. **"Why?"**

"You and I both know why," I say, bracing myself for a future quarrel. "I _know_ you looked through my memories and saw Mada—"

**"DO NOT mention That Man's name!"** he roars, creating a tense atmosphere.** "I would gladly crush him to the ends of the Earth, but I require two conditions."**

I blink, unsettled by the ready agreement. "Uh, OK. Yes?"

**"First, you will free me out of this miserable prison."**

"...I'm going to assume you're smarter than you look, if only because doing so will kill me."

**"Since when has death ever been a problem with you?"** Kurama counters.

I nod grudgingly. "Point taken. But it must be Obito and Madara. I won't take no for an answer."

"Agreed. Both Uchiha can be eliminated. Second, That Man will die by my hand only."

I smile sweetly. "That can be arranged."

* * *

Kurama might be impatient, arrogant, and easily prone to rage, but he is a very good teacher. We hold training sessions in my mindscape at night with Kyōki, and in turn he teaches me anything he knows that "you puny mortals" can do. Surprisingly, there is a lot in this category, and only further widens when we join our chakra together.

Taijutsu is done between me and Kyōki, and Kurama teaches me about strategy and a general explanation for ninjutsu and genjutsu. We lay down to discuss creating the aforementioned, scratching out ideas and problems that lay ahead, even going as far as to me slipping inside his cage.

"Is there a way to cancel out dojutsu?"

Kurama pauses in the middle of our shogi game. **"...That is a very interesting question."**

I prop my chin in my knees, scanning the board halfheartedly. "I mean, it would be ideal to create a dojutsu that cancels out other dojutsu. Know what I mean? But, you know...it's _creating a dojutsu_."

Kurama nods in acknowledgement to my point. **"I have some...experience in the matter. Hagoromo as well."**

I perk up. Kurama rarely mentions the Sage of the Six Paths, so I don't push. Memories, especially for beings like us, are precious—you keep what you get. "It isn't impossible, then. You would know if it was impossible."

**"...Perhaps,"** Kurama allows. **"But if has nearly a 0% survival rate."** I wilt, but he's not done. **"Of course, Shukaku will smack me if I show this sort of reasoning. He was always such an obnoxious brat**."

I'm shocked—not at the fact that he has called the One-tailed an obnoxious brat, but at the fact that he is willing to help me. It fills me with a pleased sort of acceptance, and my heart automatically inserts Kurama from 'friend' to 'close, sort of tolerated one'. I grin.

"Now, for the technical difficulties..."

* * *

"Who did you learn from?"

I nearly drop the bag I am holding. Kakashi stares at me with amused puzzlement. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do," he says. "Your taijutsu is explainable, at least; with no one to teach you, you would obviously make your own. But that wouldn't even come close to ninjutsu and fuuinjutsu."

I mentally curse myself for being so..._relaxed_ around the Uchiha. At first, I just wanted to keep Sasuke and Itachi safe, but I had no idea I was going this soft. "Er...I suppose you wouldn't believe me if I say I learned from Otou-san?" I ask sheepishly, plastering a crooked smile on my face. Kakashi snorts.

"I already asked him. He says that no one taught you except yourself. And when I pushed further, he sort of snapped at me and said that he didn't want to question a five year old that's been abused."

I blink. "...Wow. I'm flattered. Although, I really don't give a shit about what the general population of Konoha thinks." Kakashi eye-smiles, and I realize that he is waiting for my answer. "Um...right."

**Brat, you better not be thinking what I think you're thinking**, Kurama warns me dangerously. I wave him aside.

"...Don't think I'm crazy or something, OK?" I purposely make the words rush. Kakashi leans forward, interested. I make my words slightly lower and I shift uncomfortably. "So, you know I have...this, right?" I motion towards my stomach. Kakashi nods, more sombre. "I sometimes have...memories, you know? Stuff that isn't mine. And a lot of it happens to be...fuuinjutsu. So I thought, this has to be a fuuinjutsu master, right? And I started experimenting."

"That's dangerous, you know," Kakashi reproaches me. He seems to be in deep thought, so I stay quiet. "But it explains a lot."

"Really?" I perk up. Kakashi hesitates, then opens up.

"There used to be two jinchūriki of Konoha. One of them was Mito Uzumaki, wife of the Shodaime. I'm guessing that the Kyuubi remembers what it was like inside of her."

"Oh," I nod quickly, as if to show I understood. "Then...the second jinchūriki used to be Kushina-san, right?"

Kakashi rears back, surprised. "How did you know that?"

"Well, Uzumaki Mito, Uzumaki Kushina, and...well, me. I heard that my family was part of the Uzumaki Clan," I reveal. "And, uh, Naruto, maybe."

Kakashi eye-smiles again, but I can tell he's thinking hard about my calculation. Perhaps I went too fast? I smile curiously, watching him. Now that I thought about it, my sister was a rabid fan girl of his. Posters, chibi dolls...I inwardly shuddered as the list went on.

"Maa, well, that's all I wanted to ask. I'll be going now. Unless you want me to inform the Yondaime about the matter?" he asks, no doubt telling the Hokage anyway no matter what I say. I duck my head shyly.

"Um...well, I don't mind, but I like my seal the way it is if he decides to inspect it. It's helped me. A lot," I confess. He tilts his head and walks away. I smirk.

_Better, Kurama?_

**Much. Although I do think you over applied it.**

* * *

A year passes by without much notice, with more visits from Sai and Naruto and more plans with Kurama. I turn seven and Itachi joins ANBU, rising ranks all the way to Captain, much to Otou-san and Oka-san's pleasure. Sasuke, after much perseverance, convinces Fugaku to accept him in the Konoha Police Force.

It was a nice year, I think back. One with no surprises.

But all of it comes crashing down when it is announced that Shisui Uchiha is dead.

* * *

_And thus, our newest arc starts! I'm tentatively calling it the Massacre Arc, as that is what originally happened in canon, but I'm not giving any spoilers as what is going to happen here, so don't try to ask. ;) I also generally dislike it when an arc drags out too long, so this will probably be two chapters at most._

_Questions:_

_- When does 'canon' start (when Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura are twelve)?_

_I've thought about this, and I'm thinking about three to four more chapters at most, including this arc. _

_- When and where will Sakura be introduced? (And this question is specifically targeted for you, SmileRen.)_

_I can't actually say how, but it'll probably be after the Massacre Arc but before canon. Sakura will be nine or ten around then and in the Academy. _

_- For those who didn't expect this arc at all?_

_I AM SO SORRY! If I disappointed many people, I'll just say that it'll go differently from before. But I think that a grudge, like the Uchiha to the Senju, that has been held for decades cannot be stopped. Yes, the peace offering that Chiyoko was might've appeased them for a while, but it doesn't mean it'll stop a riot completely._

_Thanks for all those who reviewed! Like I said before, feel free to send a PM to me if you have any critiques to make. But, and I repeat, I'd rather it be a PM, as I can reply back to you quickly._

_Leave a review on your way out._


	5. Omake

**A God's Chessboard**

**Omake**

* * *

**Disclaimer**: You know the drill. I'm just playing in an awesome sandbox.

A/N: This was partly to comfort me, as I can't stand a week without completing a chapter. It was also to partly distract me from personal life issue. BTW, Chapter Five will be probably released on Wednesday or the day after that.

* * *

_In another world, the Uchiha Massacre never happened. Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki never died, and an unseen soul slips through the barriers of reincarnation unknowingly. Of course, this doesn't mean that this is the __original__ NARUTO world. Set in Modern Day AU._

* * *

**I.**

I stare.

_Fuck no._ I can hear Kyōki completely agree in my head.

"So!" Sakura bounds toward me, her face set in a sort of jubilant triumph. I begin inching away cautiously, careful not to look at that..._thing_. "How do you like it?"

"It's..." I trail off, shuddering. "...unusual. Appallingly unusual."

Sakuta pouts. "Come on, it can't be that hard. Just try it on!" She waves The Thing in my face. I gag as it penetrates the three foot distance I had carefully measured. "You act as if this was green spandex or something."

I eye The Thing with new consideration. "True. It's _definitely_ worse than green spandex."

"Kakashi! Get your lazy ass here!" Sakura yells, alerting Naruto, Kakashi, and both of my brothers. We had all gathered in the Uchiha Compound for lunch, celebrating our sixth anniversary as a team. Or, at least, Team 7's sixth anniversary.

Sasuke and Itachi take one look at The Thing and simultaneously say the same thing. "Hell no."

"I _know_." Naruto is in harmonic agreement with both of them for once. "Kami, people actually _wear_ something like that?"

Sakura sniffs disdainfully. "I'll have you know that I bought this at _Guess_. Not a cheap penny."

"And you can't wear this because...?" Sasuke seems to be still processing why on Earth someone would be buying this. Itachi, apparently, is of the same notion, and is nodding mutely along.

"Because I don't have a big enough chest to wear this strapless thing," Sakura says shamelessly. "Luckily, Chiyoko does, so she's wearing it."

I bang my head on the table. The Thing, or I suppose, a black lacy one piece that reveals entirely too much indecent cleavage, was bought on the bet that Sakura and Ino could—_would_—buy something so scandalously clad that I would refuse to wear it. In my defense, I was drunk, Sakura was drunk, and Ino came along with the ride.

"Does this have anything to do with that bet you made last week...?" Naruto cranes his head sideways, as if seeing it in a different perspective will make the dress better. "I mean, Chiyoko-chan is really awesome and everything, but..." He glances apologetically to me. I shrug. "...this isn't her style."

Instantly, Sasuke goes on the defensive. "You're saying my sister isn't pretty?" he asks coolly, the only sign of his irritation a twitching eyebrow. I smother a giggle as Naruto frantically denies what ever he has said in the past ten seconds.

"But...you know," Kakashi says, tilting his head slightly to the right. "This looks like Icha Icha Tactics' Maki's outfit."

I pause, taking the dress in a slightly new light. "My God. You're right. You are so totally right. I mean, like, right there, in that angle..."

Sakura blanches. "Please don't tell me that Jiraiya made this," she begs. I raise an eyebrow.

"He's a designer. For all we know, this could be one of his failed experiments."

Sakura visibly wilts, then brightens. "Ah! But you still have to wear it, Chiyoko-chan!"

I bang my head on the table again.

* * *

**II.**

"Who are you and what have you done to my daughter?" Mikoto half demands, half jokingly says to me as I awkwardly come out of my room. I grimace, mostly because my heels feel like they're going to snap at any moment, and Sasuke is gaping like a fish while Itachi subtlety chokes on his tea.

Fugaku raises an eyebrow over his newspaper and cup of coffee. "Is this some new fashion or what everybody keeps telling me as teenager rebellion?"

It is morning, and Sakura has gleefully told me that, according to the bet, I must literally wear this all day, from school to night, and since then I have been repeatingly cursing her in my sleep. "Just for today," I inform Otou-san, still trying out my shoes as if they are about as fragile as glass slippers. I wouldn't be surprised if they were.

Fugaku nods, then flicks his finger towards me. "If any reporters follow you, pretend you don't know who they are or who they're talking about."

I nod solemnly. "On the Uchiha Clan's honor," I promise, then turn to Sasuke dryly. "Well, come on. Our chauffeur isn't going to drive by himself."

Sasuke manages to somehow remain dignified and indifferent to my outfit as he strides forward out the door. "Bye, Oka-san, Otou-san!" I call out. "Good luck to you for work, nii-san!"

The moment I arrive at my locker, Ino pounces on me, no doubt ready for the latest gossip. "You actually did it!" she gasps. I give her a blank stare. "...that was a stupid question, wasn't it," she says sheepishly. "Here's two thousand yen."

I put the money in my locker, satisfied. Meanwhile, Sasuke is ignoring me pointedly, sending a few obvious glances in my direction occasionally. I suppress a smile. Ever since I accidentally threw myself off the roof when I was nine, my brother has miraculously turned into a mother hen. This is probably helped by the fact that I have the ability of "getting into things that don't concern me. At all."

"Who are you?" A familiar voice sends Ino zooming away and me whipping around.

"Sai-chan!" I grin, hugging my best friend cheerfully."I haven't seen you in such a long while! How's work going?"

The eighteen year old views me with ill-concealed concern. "Chiyoko-san, are you sick?"

I slump. "It's OK!" I chirp. "Only for today and because of a stupid, stupid bet..."

Sai doesn't look entirely convinced at my mutterings, but he passes it off in favor of examining me. "Is your leg injury passable for inspection?"

"Ah..." I smile nervously and wince as I accidentally twist my ankle. "...Sort of. Tsunade-sama did good work on it but she says it'll be another month until it fully heals." Beside me, Sasuke is attentively listening but rummages loudly in his locker so as not to give me that image.

Sai frowns. "You shouldn't do that, then," he reprimands me, then turns to Sasuke and gives him Creepy Smile No. 7. "Good morning, Asexual. How was your day?"

Suffice to say, the morning was quite...eventful.

Even I worried for them when Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai were escorted straight to Tsunade-sama's office.

* * *

_Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! (Or whatever the time is in your country.) I put in an omake in mostly because a) I wanted a break from Chapter Five and b) to assure myself that you guys won't hate my guts for going a week without an update. Hopefully._

_This is set in Modern Day AU. It isn't to say how the Uchiha Massacre will turn out in my story, or how Chiyoko sets herself in Team 7, but I wanted a Modern Day one-shot without all those problems that Obito and Madara set for them._

_Good news! :) I published another story, called Of Chaos and Ruination. It's actually Modern Day AU (surprise surprise—sarcasm meant) but it's a fairly different AU OC story._


	6. The Angel Is Soaked In Blood

**A God's Chessboard**

**V. The Angel Is Soaked In Blood**

* * *

**Disclaimer**: All characters, laws of the universe, and original plot lines belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

A/N: Remember how I said that I was going to have the Massacre chapter as two chapters? Well, I decided to do one because two were too short.

* * *

I decide that I hate funerals. I'm pretty sure that most people do, but for the wrong reasons. Shisui would most definitely not enjoy me, Sasuke, and Itachi moping around like lost dolls. And he hated long, grandiose speeches, such as the one performed right now.

"...and thus the life of Uchiha Shisui, who will remain in our hearts always," the speaker finishes, and I breathe an inaudible sigh of relief. Beside me, Itachi is solemn and gaunt, but I can see an almost unnoticeable twitch developing above his right eyebrow.

Sasuke squirms, and I turn to him and mouth, _Stay still. I'll give you training later._ After that, all fidgeting ceases at once, and my cute brother decides on frowning at the man at the podium instead.

I give Shisui asphodels, symbolizing _My Regrets Follow You to Your Grave_. After Sasuke finishes placing his flowers on the coffin and clambering down to meet me, he growls at some of the Uchiha whispering about the rumors of Itachi and Shisui's death. I, in turn, give them my most frigid stare under my fan, and they hurry away.

"...That was not necessary," Itachi says after a while. I give him a simpering stare, and he looks away.

"Shisui would never have killed himself, nii-san, but it's stupid to think that it has anything with you," I say dismissively, nodding along with Sasuke. Itachi simply raises his brow and inclines his head to Otou-san, who is motioning for us to follow him.

"Any spars or training between _any_ of you shall be put on hiatus," he commands us. My jaw drops open, as does Sasuke's. When we stare disbelievingly at our father for a few more seconds, he adds, "Meaning you as well, Itachi."

"W-what the hell brought this along?" I sputter incredulously, not even bothering censing my language. Fugaku gives me a firm look.

"It is to my attention that all three of you have caught some...unwanted attention," he says stiffly. I suddenly understand what he means. The Elders of the Clan have been constantly pushing for me to receive official membership into Konoha's ranks, to, and I quote, "show off", and it has only been a year or so since Sasuke has been improving rapidly. Otou-san, I know, has never completely accepted the coup d'état. Ever since the Yondaime and him have been on decent terms with their wives, he never has needed to push for more power, as the Hokage has already put his advice in high favor.

"However, this does not, under any means, regard training alone," Fugaku continues. I raise my eyebrow questioningly. "Training Grounds 44, I have heard, has been in particularly useful in preparing shinobi into future settings."

A grin suddenly spreads across my face. What Otou-san is insinuating couldn't be more clearer than day. "In other words...Hokage-sama granted us permission," I say gleefully, not even bothering to correct my slip up.

"No, the Hokage has granted each and every one of you _individual_ permission," Fugaku corrects me, but I can see how he raises his voice purposely as he emphasizes the word individual, alerting the Uchiha around us. Sasuke perks up, while Itachi remains expressionless. And I glance at Shisui's coffin again and suddenly feel lonesome.

The next day, I bring Shisui seven zinnias. _Remembrance Always_.

But seven months later, as the grave is burning, the gardens dying, and the houses of the Uchiha Compound swallowed up in flames, I can only cry and watch and wonder how on Earth I could have been so carefree before.

* * *

**"You seem oddly subdued,"** Kurama observes. I look up, twirling the pencil over the diagrams we had made.

I shrugged. "You know what's coming up next. I'm just...really worried," I admit, chewing my lip anxiously. "Fuck, I don't even know what I'm going to do, or what _Tobi's_ going to do, or even if they decided on a coup d'état _at all_..."

Kurama grumbles. **"Keep the depression down. While you're going nuts, _she's_,"** and here the Nine-tailed Beast gestures to Kyōki with one of his tails.** "Getting excited. Drives me crazy."**

I raise my eyebrows at the informal tone. Kyōki is indeed fidgeting against one of the walls, a sadistic smile curved onto her face. She prowls my mindscape with vigor and nearly kills me during our daily spars, but it's nothing unlike what I'm used to. "Really?" I don't lower my voice, as being in Kurama's cage apparently cancels out all noise from outside.

**"Yes, really. And it is best to bide your time on this," **Kurama commands me. **"You still have more or less six months left. With, of course, my advice."**

I snort. "I had no idea you cared for me so much." The words _And I'm grateful_ goes unsaid.

Kurama rolls his eyes. **"Of course not. It just means that That Man's accomplice will be there and we will _not, _under any circumstances, ruin this chance,"** he snarls, suddenly turning predatory. I nod silently.

The next day, I go to Sai's apartment.

* * *

"I need a favor."

Sai blinks owlishly at me. "Excuse me, Chiyoko-san?"

I tap my foot gently, none too happy about this—but it had to be done. "I need you to do me a favor, Sai."

My first friend's face turns carefully blank. It has been a while since he has shown that expression, just as when he had first met me, and I loathe it. It screams of what he has grown up with, and Kami knows that I hate people that screws my friends. "Yes?"

"I need you to talk to Danzō." Almost immediately, Sai's mouth opens to deny anything to do with said man, but closes it abruptly. I tighten my smile, knowing that Sai has realized how serious this is. "And I need you to spy on him."

"I have no idea of who you are talking about, Chiyoko-san," Sai says carefully. I want to shake him and shriek about how serious this is, but he's not finished. "But it is possible that I can spy on whoever you are talking to."

My jaw drops to the floor. "W-what?"

Sai raises his eyebrow toward me. "Whatever I have said in the past five seconds, I will deny them, Chiyoko-san. However, whatever I have said in the past five seconds, I do mean."

And I suddenly tackle him to the ground, hugging him for being there when I really, honestly-to-God needed him, and Kurama is grumbling at me for invading personal space, but I don't care. Because this is Sai, and I am incredibly grateful for him.

* * *

It is dinner, and I eat at the table, eyeing my father and Itachi critically. Both have dark circles under their eyes and a noticeable air of weariness around them, so I decide to start the conversation.

"How was training going, Aniki?" I ask Sasuke, who in turn chatters away. Mikoto gives a smile in his direction. Meanwhile, Naruto and Sai, who have joined us for the day for dinner, throw the talking around to so-and-so and who-did-what. It really is amazing, I marvel, at how perceptive Naruto could be about village affairs.

These days, Mikoto is the only one holding our family together. Itachi grows more distant by the passing day and Otou-san returns from arguing with the Elders for hours in the evening, tired and unsuccessful. I spend more time in my room with Kurama and training with Sasuke, who grows more bitter at me being able to so easily beat him. When I try to hold back, he can always sense it.

In other words, my family is straining on threads alone.

And I can only watch and stare as it sinks lower and lower in water.

* * *

"Why are you here?"

Kyōki twirls a finger in her hair before smiling. "I'm the dark part of you, obviously."

"Uh-huh. I doubt that," I say skeptically. "Hell, you're nicer than _me_. If anything, I'm the dark self."

Kyōki pouts. "Don't say that," she says innocently, but there is an edge in her voice I can't describe. Kurama watches us warily from his cage.

"Come on, then." I ready myself into Sen Sutairu, going for another spar. But she is not listening. Instead, she is staring at me like she can't believe what she is seeing. I frown. "Is there something wrong?"

She shakes her head. "Oh, nothing." Kyōki smiles, baring her teeth, and I have a second to snap myself into shape as she aims straight for my throat.

This is insane, and she can tell it too. We have fought, many times in the past, but never this violently. As she pierces with deadly accuracy towards my heart and my throat, I am doing everything in my power to avoid it. I have no idea what would happen if I killed Kyōki—but I also don't intend to find out.

"What are you _doing_?" I shout as she whips through another series of hand seals, and barely missing the columns of fire shooting towards me. She doesn't reply, however, and I roar in frustration. This results into me using everything I have in my arsenal, which she dodges easily.

In the end, she is clutching my throat, holding me up high, and I can see a heavily concentrated face down below me.

"Do you know what I hate most of all in the universe, Chiyoko?" she rasps out, beads of sweat trickling down her face and blood smearing her clothing. "I hate the kings. I loathe them with every fiber of my body, because they are the ones that haven't suffered. They crave immortality and riches obsessively, and they. Don't. Know. What. They. Are. Talking. About." she growls, unsteadily leaning back and forth.

She gives a bark of laughter, and her eyes are transfixed on my face. "Yet the kings rule the world, because of money and prestige and everything else in between. How ironic, that they didn't so much as lick a boot to deserve it." I listen silently, because she continues with a hysterical grin on her face. "Didn't deserve it deserve it deserve it deserve it—" she repeats, and I cut her off.

"Am I a king, then?"

Kyōki refocuses on me. "No," she replies dully. "No, you aren't. But it doesn't mean I can't kill you." Her hand tightens around my throat, and I cough blood out.

"Why would you?" I ask, repressing a smile of my own.

"You aren't a king, and yet you are," she says. "You have everything you want, and yet you crave for more. You could rule the world with your powers alone, and yet you don't. Weak," she scoffs in disgust, looking conflicted. I barely hear her as she goes past the second sentence.

"I could rule the world?" I say, raising an arched eyebrow. "I doubt it. Even with so many lives behind of me, I'm not even to the standards of Obito."

She snarls. "You don't _understand_. You could be so much more, and you _are_ so much more..." She paces around the room. Kurama watches us in contentment, obviously relaxed at the setting.

"You are favored by Fate," she finally decides. I snort at the Neji-like statement, before she adds, "By the Shinigami as well, although you don't know it."

I am alert and wide awake. "What do you mean by the Shinigami? Do you know how to break the curse? What about—" My sentence is cut off as she squeezes, and I smile weakly.

"You won't kill me," I state. Her eyes narrow.

"Excuse me?"

"You, my dear Kyōki, are just like me. We have one singular, completely joined goal, and that is to _survive_." I watch her go through a series of emotions, then shuts off completely. This is one of the worse kinds of risks—you have no idea of what your opponent is going to do next. But everything I've said so far is true.

"Why can't I?" she snarls. I can see her scramble for a reason, until I say—

"You can't, because you love me."

Her eyes widen momentarily, but I'm not finished. "You can't, because despite the fact that I may or may not be a king, I am still _you_. And because I am still you," here, I lean forward to her face and whisper out my last words. "_You cannot kill me, as the person you hate and love._"

And then she roars and a long katana appears in her hand, swiping towards me, and I stare and wonder if this is the end when it _stops_. She's shaking now, unsteady and unsure of where her footing is, and I am being released and falling to the ground. Kyōki takes deep shuddering breaths.

"I need your trust," I state bluntly. "In other words, I need your power and your mind, and everything that goes along with it."

She stiffens. "How do I know that you aren't a king?"

"Because I'm you," I say. "Because, if I ever start going down that path, you will be there to stop me. You will be my partner, Kyōki. You will be there every step of the way."

"What if you aren't there?" she whispers, trembling, suddenly looking vulnerable and miserable, and I think vaguely in my head if this is what I'm really afraid of. To be completely alone and have to live an eternity without knowing that your real self is there.

"I will be."

* * *

"Danzō is planning to massacre the Uchiha Clan."

I smile sadly. "I know," I say to Sai, who looks like he's struggling to say what's next. He stops short at my answer.

"You—"

"I knew a long time ago," I say kindly. "That's why I asked you for a favor, you know?"

Sai's eyes widen, and he clutches my sleeve in an uncharacteristic amount of panic and urgency. "Then—we have to hide you! You can escape from Konoha—it can't be that hard. If—"

"Sai-chan, are you actually saying that you're worried for me?" I ask amusedly. Sai stops, then slumps. I flick his forehead playfully. "Kami, you act as if the world is falling. They do say that negativity affects the brain. And don't worry. I'll figure out a way."

Sai nods, any traces of vulnerability from before gone into one wave of professionalism. Then, he suddenly shakes his finger at me immaturely. "You better not die!" he shouts, running away and looking back to me. "Or else he'll _kill_ me!"

And I burst out laughing, wondering if 'he' was Sasuke or Naruto or Danzo, or anyone else in between.

* * *

_Two Months Later_

There is a woman in the mirror who I don't know.

She has pale, drifting hair and the beautifully molded face of an aristocrat. High cheekbones and naturally sharp eyes only further accent this fact. Kyōki regards the Kage Bunshin I made especially for her with a giddiness I didn't know she had.

"This feels weird," she says, testing her new anatomy out. I agree with a nod of my head, feeling two bodies—one sitting on her bed, and one admiring herself in the mirror—speak as one in their minds. "I mean, a good kind of weird, but weird nevertheless," she clarifies.

_Futari no Itai_, a new seal I spent months researching with Kurama, directly links myself and Kyōki, no matter distance and speed. It is somewhat similar to Pein's Six Path's of Pain this way, but is almost like sharing two bodies in one—meaning coordination can either be a lot easier or harder whether you apply it well enough.

_But it's still awesome_, Kyōki smirks confidently in my mind, twisting the mind link we share.

I snort._ Since when did you help any?_

_I gave you the idea_! Kyōki sounds indignant despite the insinuation. I shrug, playing with the family photo on my nightstand. It holds me and Sasuke tugging on either side of an annoyed Itachi, while Mikoto smiles and Fugaku stands stoically behind us. Itachi and Otou-san had collected the two copies of "professional" ones, while the rest of us grabbed an individual photo of us just being silly.

"Imouto?" Sasuke peeks into my room. Kyōki poofs instantly, making my brother's eyebrows rise at the noise. "Dinner's ready."

"Okay," I say, smiling and unmoving. Sasuke sighs, knowing what was inevitably coming next and crosses his arms defiantly. I resist the urge to giggle.

My brother sits next to me. "Can you come to dinner?" he grits out, looking like he would like to be anywhere but here. I clap my hands and pinch his cheek affectionately.

"I'd be delighted to, Aniki. Honestly, I swear you're going more Uchiha-like by the day."

* * *

_One Month Later_

Itachi hates the Council with his entire heart, but he buries it all under the sense of duty he has for Konohagakure. It is unfair, especially for his family, but it is worth it when he wakes up in the middle of a scream, waking up from the nightmare of Sasuke. That, he tells himself grimly, is the only reason why he was doing this apart from peace.

During those last seven months, Itachi learns to hate his sister.

He loathes doing so, but Chiyoko is the one that has always fueled Sasuke on. The oil on the engine, in other words, and Itachi can't stand the thought of her body smeared with blood in front of his feet. So he learns to hate the one he has grown to love, and there is always understanding in her eyes, as if she knows what he is going through.

But he _can't_, Itachi tells himself somewhat desperately. He can't get attached. So even as a group of Uchihas corner him, interrogating him about the reason of Shisui's death, he stays silent, letting them believe of him distancing himself from the clan. But as he returns to the main compound with his father, it is Chiyoko who is there, practically shoving homemade scones into their arms and telling them to shut up and sleep.

So, really (and Itachi hates himself for this), he is actually somewhat glad when Madara joins him for the massacre. Because then he at least doesn't have to kill everyone on his own.

But as he _shunshins_ to the Uchiha Compound, blood has already tainted the air, and Itachi can only run to see who has slain the bodies before him.

* * *

There is a woman slaying Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha. She wears a dark cloak embroidered with a white circle on her back, and a masquerade mask is perched delicately on her face, covering her eyes and nose. Chiyoko Uchiha, Fugaku and Mikoto's adopted daughter, is sprawled on the futon, her eyes dead and her heart not beating.

"How...?" Mikoto Uchiha rasps out, staring blankly at the broken seven year old on the floor. "Who...are...you...?"

The woman has a wisp of a brittle smile on her face, but it is wiped off at the sound of her voice. "My orders are to kill, madam. I'm sorry, but I can't answer any of your questions."

Fugaku coughs, blood splattering on the floor. "Tell me, is...the Council...behind this?"

She sighs. "And here I was, thinking that it was going to be an easy job. Unfortunately, yes. Behind the Yondaime's back, of course, but the Council nevertheless. Such **assholes**," she suddenly growls, her voice strangled and foreign. Fugaku stiffens.

"You remind me...of her," Mikoto says softly, inclining her head to her daughter. "Very...outspoken. Same...tone. Beautiful."

They do not notice her flinch.

"Take care of Sasuke..." The Uchiha matriarch is whispering furiously now, determined to get her last words in. "Itachi...is very...stoic, but he's...sweet-hearted. My darling, darling sons. Take care of them, Chiyoko."

And they die the moment Itachi Uchiha swings the door open furiously, Sharingan spinning and facing the one his mother has recognized as her own daughter.

* * *

"Who are you?" My brother is surprisingly vicious for one who is about to do the same thing as I have today. I hold the tears that threaten to pour before intoning my voice into a sadistic drawl, fingering the bloody kunai in comfort.

"Aww," I coo, activating Mokakē, the result of me and Kurama's hard work. In my head, Kurama is strangely...supportive? Sympathetic? And is silent, watching our surroundings. "How's our little clan murderer?"

Itachi stiffens. "How do you know that?" he says, his voice steadying in monotone, poised to fight. He is inches away from attacking, I know, but if there is one thing I have learned about my brother, it's that he gathers all available information before killing his objective.

"The same way I'm just like you, Itachi-kun," I purr. "Misunderstood, no? Unforgiving. Merciless. _Weapons_."

My brother's eyes are cold and calculating, and I want to hug him and scream that it's me. But it isn't, because he thinks that the Kage Bunshin on the floor is me and dead. So I play my part, because Sasuke needs Itachi more than anything, and he deserves better than me.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, Itachi-kun, you cute little brother hasn't came back yet."

Itachi goes rigid as right on cue, Sasuke comes bursting in, absorbing the bodies with shaky defiance. I watch him, slightly impressed at how improved his reaction compared to canon.

"Sasuke, run." My elder brother's voice is strained. I tilt my head and curl my fingers around the kunai. "_Run_."

"No." Sasuke is unsteady, but he stands his ground. I smirk.

"_Sasuke. _Go alert the Hokage _now_." This is probably as close as Itachi can get to shouting. Which apparently my Aniki senses as well, but he ignores it. So my eldest brother does the only thing that will catch my attention off Sasuke, and he attacks.

It is a short but beautiful fight, and I can't help but keep the sick grin off my face as Itachi fights with full force. It's thrilling and scary, because I have to hide _Sen Sutāiru_ while making sure I don't kill him.

And then I suddenly sense another chakra signature, one that's rusty and old and most of all powerful, and Obito Uchiha is right outside the compound. I snarl, Kurama rumbling behind me in simultaneous agreement, and I strike the moment Itachi is off guard. My brother instantly shields himself against Sasuke, thinking that my target was him, but I ignore both.

Obito Uchiha is good. Scratch that—make it very, very good.

And I know that I can not take any chances on this.

"My. This is interesting," he says mildly. My lips turn down, mostly because he's not so much as breaking a sweat. True, I'm not breaking a sweat either, but I'm supposed to be better than him. Kurama is urging me to release his power, which I instantly ignore, because a) it would instantly give away my identity and b) it's probably exactly what Obito Uchiha _wants_.

Which is also fucking annoying, because, as I have stated before, I am supposed to be _better_ than him.

My breath grows progressively ragged, while he is standing on thin water as well. We have almost completely destroyed the room, moving subtlety to the courtyards instead. And Itachi and Sasuke have escaped, no doubt to inform the Yondaime about the matter.

So I fight harder than ever, until we're both gasping, blood seeping down our backs and arms and barely holding up at all. But I still have energy left—just for Sasuke and Itachi—so it is with satisfaction that I perform _Satsugai_, Mito-sensei's own creation and very, very dangerous to its user.

In the end, I think Obito Uchiha is lying on the ground, bleeding and beheaded.

I am wrong.

I barely avoid the seven kunai that sharply veer towards my head. When I whirl around, intent for all purposes to finish off what I have started, the body is gone and I am steaming with anger and disappointment—all towards _me_.

And then I can hear sirens wailing and the powerful signatures approaching, so I disappear in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

Sasuke can admit that he is the tiniest bit envious of his sister.

While Chiyoko never really shown off like other children their age, instead pushing attention on him instead, he could never really quite get how effortlessly she did things. From washing the dishes to beating Itachi, of all people, in spars, it was done without complaint and without boasting.

But Sasuke had to be a fool not to notice how strained their family was these days. Nii-san and Otou-san did not bother being on speaking terms, instead depending on Kaa-chan to relay messages. Chiyoko, in turn, tried to be as upbeat and caring as usual, but there were dark circles of where her eyes were.

So Sasuke strived being a Uchiha. He trained harder, longer, and more brutally than ever before. But it is not enough. True, he lasts longer against Imouto, but she is still _holding back_. And he begins to resent her for that.

But all of it disappears when he sees her body stained with blood and _dead._

Oka-san and Otou-san is enough, but Chiyoko is a different matter. It does not mean that he loves them unequally, but Sasuke has no doubt whatsoever that his sister could take out the entire jounin platoon blindfolded. So it is at that moment that Sasuke knew he was going to die.

But That Woman spares both of them in favor of sparring with another man, one that he does not know. And it infuriates and relieves Sasuke, because he still has Itachi-nii alive and well. But The Woman sends another message to them, and it is this: you are weak. You are weak enough that I will not bother killing you. You are so weak that I refuse to acknowledge you, and instead torment you to the ends of the world.

But then the medical-nin scramble orders to carry his sister to the hospital, and Sasuke can only watch in desperate hope because this means that Chiyoko is somewhat _alive_. True, she is in a coma, they inform him later, but she is alive and _breathing_.

And that is what matters.

* * *

_I'm sorry. I truly am. If this somehow destroyed any strands that you have for continuing this, then please understand that this is not the end. On the other hand, seeing as this is not the end, don't spam this. I have no qualms whatsoever if you want to critique mistakes within grammar, but there is a fine line between spamming and critiquing. _

_I also apologize for the lateness of the chapter. From Thursday to Saturday I had no power or wifi connection at all. :( Really ruined my day, but at least I updated it now, neh? _

_Please leave a review on your way out._

_Preview of next chapter:_

"We have a new member," Itachi intones. Sasuke and I whip our heads toward him, different emotions running through our heads.

"His name..." Itachi pauses, and a glimmer of darkness flickers across his face. I have barely any time to wonder why when he opens his mouth again.

"...is Tobi Uchiha."


End file.
